CHARGED PARTICLES: Jazz with a spark!
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    • First CD: "Charged Particles" >
      • Charged Particles Track List
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    • Second CD: "Sparks" >
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    • Live at the Baked Potato! >
      • Live at the Baked Potato!
      • Liner Notes - Live at the Baked Potato!
      • Press Coverage - Live at the Baked Potato!
      • Radio Airplay - Live at the Baked Potato!
    • Orchestra Collaborations >
      • Project Overview
      • Listen to Studio Recordings
      • The Arranger: Jerry Depuit
      • Buy a Recording
    • Columbus Collection
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  • History
    • Appearances w/ Guest Artists >
      • Nguyen Le
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        • Alumni: Andy Woodson
      • CP III Alumni
    • From the Fans
  • Stage Plot
  • Contact Us
  • Links to Other Artists
  • Home
  • Biography of the Band
  • Biographies of the Players
    • Murray Low
    • Aaron Germain
    • Jon Krosnick >
      • Lunar Octet
      • State of Mind
      • Jon Krosnick Quintet
      • Pangaea
      • Silver Sax
      • The Ferric Fang Quartet and Brasswind
      • The New Jazz Sextet II
      • The New Jazz Sextet I
      • Jon Krosnick Trio 2019 NYC
      • Other Bands
    • CP III Special Guests
  • Performance Schedule
    • 2025
    • 2024
    • 2023
    • 2022
    • 2021
    • 2020
    • 2019
    • 2018
    • 2017
    • 2016
    • 2015
    • 2014
    • 2013
    • 2012
    • Past Performances
  • Performance Projects
    • With Saxophonist Paul McCandless
    • Celebrating Michael Brecker, with Tod Dickow
    • Celebrating John Coltrane
    • With Vocalist Rocío Guitard
    • Educational Workshops >
      • Workshops for Students
      • Example Workshop for Younger Children
      • Example Workshop for Older Children
      • Guide for Teachers
      • Educational Philosophy
      • Residencies and Master Classes
      • Concerts for Seniors
      • The Business of Jazz
    • Orchestra Collaborations >
      • Project Overview
      • Reviews
      • Listen to Studio Recordings
      • Listen to Live Concert Performance
      • The Arranger: Jerry Depuit
      • Posters and Programs for Orchestra Appearances
      • Buy a Recording
  • Videos and Audio
    • Watch CP
    • Listen to CP
  • Recognition and Publicity
    • Press Coverage
    • Reviews by Presenters
    • Posters
    • Radio Station Airplay
    • Murray Low at SF Jazz Center
  • Photos
    • Photos of CP
    • High Res Photos for Publication
    • High Res Paul McCandless Photos
    • High Res Brecker Tribute Photos
    • On Tour with Paul McCandless
    • Randy Brecker Photos
  • CDs
    • First CD: "Charged Particles" >
      • Charged Particles Track List
      • Liner Notes
      • Reviews
      • Listen to "Charged Particles"
      • Buy "Charged Particles"
    • Second CD: "Sparks" >
      • Sparks Track List
      • Liner Notes
      • Reviews
      • Listen to "Sparks"
      • Buy "Sparks"
    • Live at the Baked Potato! >
      • Live at the Baked Potato!
      • Liner Notes - Live at the Baked Potato!
      • Press Coverage - Live at the Baked Potato!
      • Radio Airplay - Live at the Baked Potato!
    • Orchestra Collaborations >
      • Project Overview
      • Listen to Studio Recordings
      • The Arranger: Jerry Depuit
      • Buy a Recording
    • Columbus Collection
    • The Turnaround - Vol. 1
  • History
    • Appearances w/ Guest Artists >
      • Nguyen Le
      • Peter Erskine
      • Kevyn Lettau
      • Barry Finnerty
      • Dennis Chambers
      • Doc Gibbs
      • David Garfield
      • Dewa Budjana
      • Other Guest Vocalists
      • Emerging Artists
    • Alumni >
      • CP I Alumni >
        • CP I Photos
        • Alumni: Caleb Hutslar
        • Alumni: Mike Rak
        • Alumni: Ron Hope
        • Alumni: Jim Maneri
      • CP II Alumni >
        • CP II Photos
        • Alumni: Kim Pensyl
        • Alumni: Andy Woodson
      • CP III Alumni
    • From the Fans
  • Stage Plot
  • Contact Us
  • Links to Other Artists
CHARGED PARTICLES: Jazz with a spark!
CPKis
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Tod Dickow and Charged Particles
​at Bristol Grammar School in the U.K.


​Workshops for Students


Charged Particles offers a wide variety of educational workshops that bring to life the fun of America’s original musical style: jazz.  Jazz is made up of four building blocks: rhythmic grooves (e.g., swing, samba, salsa, funk, shuffle), melody, harmony, and most importantly, improvisation.  Charged Particles’ presentations explain each of these in an exciting and accessible way. 

The group demonstrates how a melody that all students recognize can sound very different if accompanied by different harmonies or if played over different rhythmic grooves.  And by giving students a guide to identifying the different sections of a jazz piece, the presentation teaches students to follow the “road map” of a performance.  The group shows how improvising is at the heart of every jazz concert and shows how jazz has evolved over its history, beginning with Dixieland and Swing in the early part of the 20th Century, incorporating Brazilian and Cuban musical influences in the middle of last Century, and importing rock and funk elements 30 years ago. 

A new feature in Charged Particles’ educational performances is the bridging of jazz with classical music.  The group recently commissioned jazz-style arrangements of well-known classical pieces, including Peter and the Wolf and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5.  At their student workshops, the group first plays brief recorded excerpts of symphony orchestras performing these pieces in their original forms and then shows how much energy and excitement can come with translating them into the language of jazz. 

Charged Particles’ educational presentations describe the unusual instruments the musicians play (including ones they built themselves) and explain what it was like for the members to dream of forming a band and then make it happen during the last 10 years.  The band members include full-time educators (one of whom is a university professor) who make vivid for students how enjoyable it can be to merge a career in musical performance with other professional work.  
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Charged Particles at Rancho Cielo - photo by Julia Robertson
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Paul McCandless and Charged Particles with students and school founder Yason Gunawan at Jazz Centrum in Surabaya, Indonesia